Meet Steve
by A Carter
Summary: Catch up with the Cohens at Christmukkah in 2023
1. Chapter 1

"Okay, are you ready?" Sophie asked the young man standing next to her. He nodded his head a bit shakily, and she noticed that he looked kind of pale. "Steve, it's going to be fine," she said, putting her hand on his arm reassuringly. He nodded again, bracing himself. Looking at him one last time to make sure he was still with her, she pushed open the front door. "Hello, anyone home?"

Ryan came around the corner, the baby in his arms. Sophie ran over to greet her brother and her nephew. She kissed Ryan on the cheek, took the baby from him, and gestured to Steve in one fluid motion. "Ryan, this is Steve. Steve, this is my brother Ryan." Steve wiped his sweaty palm on his pants before reaching out to meet Ryan's extended hand. He was quick to notice that Sophie's brother had a firm handshake, and quite the menacing stare. Steve knew he had been correct in not taking this meeting lightly. "Where is everyone?" Sophie looked around, realizing that the house was very, very quiet, which was unusual for Christmukkah.

"Seth and Summer took the twins and went out for a bit, so Taylor and I get to watch the monster," said Ryan, nodding his head toward the infant in her arms, but still fixing his gaze on Steve. "Mom and Dad are at the movies, but they should be back in about half an hour." Sophie wasn't really paying attention, as she was busy cooing at the baby. When the room got quiet again, she looked up to find Ryan staring at Steve and Steve fixedly looking at the clock on the mantel.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go say hi to Taylor. I'll be right back," Steve looked at her desperately, quietly trying to communicate to her to not leave him. She just smirked and disappeared into the kitchen. Finally, after quite the awkward moment, Ryan broke the silence.

"So, Steve, how long have you and Sophie been dating?"

"Umm, I guess about four months?" Ryan simply nodded. Steve was uncomfortable with his lack of response; the man just stood there, seeming to read him with a simple glance. "Uhh…so I hear you're an architect? In San Francisco?" Sophie had prepared him for this meeting, and he was eager to show off his knowledge.

"That's right." More awkward silence. Ryan, inwardly, was smiling. He knew Steve was a good kid; Sandy and Kirsten had met him before, and they both liked him. He was just enjoying making him sweat.

"How's it going in here, you two?" A very pregnant woman entered from the kitchen. "Hi, Steve! I'm Taylor, Ryan's wife." She shook his hand and waddled over to Ryan. "Dinner is almost ready; I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap. Sophie has the baby. Can you check the oven in five minutes?" Ryan nodded, kissing her on the cheek.

"I can handle it," he said. "Do you want help getting upstairs?" He grinned mischievously; she was due to give birth in less than two weeks, and it definitely showed. She playfully hit his arm.

"I am perfectly capable, thank you." She lumbered away, and Ryan gestured toward the couch.

"Have a seat, Steve," he said, not unkindly. Steve sat down, still a bit uncomfortable. He had been to this house many, many times, but he had never met Sophie's brothers or sisters-in-law before. They were all home for Christmukkah, and Sophie had given him a very detailed history so he would be prepared for dinner. He knew that Ryan and Taylor had been married for four years and that she was a French book editor, he an architect, that they lived in San Francisco in the "coolest apartment ever" and were expecting their first child in a few weeks. He tried to remember anything Sophie had said that he could talk to Ryan about. Luckily, he was saved by Sophie entering with a crying baby.

"He needs a diaper change, Ryan," she said, thrusting the baby forward.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You know I don't do dirty diapers. Plus, you need the practice!" Sophie pouted, knowing that the puppy-dog eyes worked on Ryan every time. Ryan sighed and stood up, taking the baby.

"I'll be right back." Sophie turned to Steve, settling next to him on the couch. "How's it going? Are you guys getting along?" she asked.

"Uhh…we don't have much to talk about, but he seems cool," Steve answered diplomatically.

"Don't worry. Seth and Summer will be home soon, and they don't shut up. Ryan's the quiet one," Sophie explained.

"You're happy to have them home, huh?"

"Yeah. It's always more fun around here when they're back. I don't feel like so much of an only child, you know? It sucks that they're so much older than me. Plus I love the babies," she replied, snuggling into his shoulder.

"Does Seth look like you and Ryan?"

"No, why?"

"Well, you're both so blonde, and your dad is so dark, I was just wondering if all three of you took after your mom." Sophie smiled. She hadn't told him that Ryan was adopted; there was no need.

"What a weird observation," she teased him. He was a pensive guy; not at all like the boys she usually went for. She was tall, slim, and blonde, much like her mother, and had always attracted the water polo-playing bad boy. But Steve had come along and quietly won her affections, and she had never been happier. At sixteen, she didn't have too much experience with love, but all she knew was that she enjoyed her time with Steve. A lot.

They sat together on the couch in comfortable silence, her head on his shoulder, fingers interlaced. Ryan came down the stairs soundlessly, and slinked into the kitchen so not to ruin the moment. His stealth-ness was for naught, however, when he heard the front door bang open.

"We're home!" Seth called. "Hello, family! We have returned!" Ryan walked back into the living room.

"Uncle Ryan! Uncle Ryan!" Two young boys came at him like twin hurricanes, hurtling themselves at his legs.

"Oof! Hi, guys! How was the mall?" he squatted down to get to eye-level. "Did you get anything good?" Two identical faces beamed back at him.

"It was so cool! I got two new action figures!" Nate exclaimed.

"And I got a new book…it has chapters!" said Jake.

"But they can't open them until tomorrow, that's the deal," said Summer, lugging in what seemed to be all the contents of the entire mall. Seth noticed Ryan looking at the amount of stuff she had.

"I know, man, she went nuts. I was powerless to stop it." Ryan laughed, took a few bags from Summer, and helped her place them under the tree.

"Oh, hi, Seth. Don't worry about saying hi to me or anything. It's not like I only see you a few times a year, or that you haven't been in this house for ten minutes total since you got here," Sophie said, now standing in front of the couch, her arms crossed.

"Oh, hey, do I know you?" Seth asked. Sophie laughed, her faux cold demeanor breaking down. He went over and gave his little sister a hug. "And who is this?" he asked, turning to Steve.

"Uhh…Steve. I'm Steve," he said, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Steve. Seth Cohen. And my wife, Summer." Summer waved from her mess of shopping bags ("Hi, Steve! Nice shirt!"). "These two," he pointed to the two boys shaking the presents under the tree, "are Jake and Nate. Or Nate and Jake. Anyway, they're mine. And I'm guessing you met the baby, that's Cooper. Who is where, by the way?" Seth asked, looking at Ryan.

"Upstairs, napping. Don't worry, I didn't kill your kid."

"Good. I was worried you had punched him or set him on fire or something."

"That joke never gets old, really."

"Some jokes are timeless, Ryan."

"Cohen! Hate to interrupt, but can you help me sort all this out?" Summer called over.

"Coming, my dearest. Soph, can you keep Nate and Jake occupied while I help the love of my life sort Christmukkah presents?" Sophie shook her head.

"Can you talk like a normal person for once?"

"Hmm…let me thi- I'm gonna go with no."

"Actually, Soph, I'll watch the boys. Do you and Steve want to make sure we don't ruin dinner? Taylor would kill us." Ryan asked.

"Sure," she replied, taking Steve's hand and leading him into the kitchen.

"Hey, munchkins, how do you feel about some soccer in the backyard?" Ryan asked the boys, who replied in the affirmative with hearty yells. Ryan glanced over at Seth; his brother understood the look of dread immediately.

"Hey, you volunteered," Seth shrugged. Ryan left with the twin tornadoes, leaving Seth and Summer in peace and quiet.

"Cohen, what time are your parents coming home?" Summer asked, checking her phone.

"Around 6:30ish, why?"

"I just got a text from Julie, asking when she, Max, and Kaitlyn should be here for dinner. Should I tell them 7:00?"

"Sounds good."

"Oh my god," Summer gasped, looking toward the kitchen.

"What is it?" Seth asked.

"Does Max know about Sophie and Steve?" Comprehension dawned on Seth's face.

"I'm not sure. He's been away at boarding school since August. Should we ask if she's told him?"

"No! We can't get involved!"

"Summer, when have we not gotten involved?"

"Cohen, I refuse to interfere with your sixteen-year-old sister's love life. If you haven't noticed, we're old. Those days are behind us."

"Summer, you've been rooting for Max and Sophie since Day 1. Another Cohen/Cooper/Atwood romance, right?"

"I just don't want there to be any drama this year. We don't need any trouble." Summer said.

"Have you met us?" Seth replied. "Like, seriously. Have you ever been around this family before?"

"Is it too much to ask for a nice, quiet Christmukkah?!" Summer yelled, her voice rising.

"Right. Rage blackouts. Got it." Seth kissed his wife quickly and then departed up the stairs to fetch the baby, who had begun screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I will make this Christmukkah peaceful and pleasant, if it's the last thing I do." Summer swore to herself.

_Can she make it happen? To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

Seth came back downstairs, Cooper in his arms, followed by a sleepy Taylor.

"This baby is taking so much out of me," she complained. "I'm tired all the time!" Seth smiled understandably.

"The last two weeks, Summer couldn't even move. She just lay in bed, expecting me to wait on her hand and foot."

"Which you did," Taylor replied. "You weakling."

"You're just jealous that Ryan isn't as sensitive as I am. He doesn't have my soul."

"Seth, I am not in the mood to banter with you," Taylor sighed. She finally made it to the couch, collapsing into the cushions. "I am not moving for the rest of the weekend."

"Hey, Taylor, have you and Ryan decided on a name yet?" Summer asked from her spot by the tree.

"We have a few in mind, but no final decisions yet," Taylor explained.

"Are you planning on telling us if it's a boy or a girl?" Seth asked.

"Nope. It's a secret!" Taylor said, a hint of her playful self back in her tired voice. "Hey, is anyone in the kitchen?"

"Yeah, Sophie and Steve are…we told them to make sure dinner didn't burn," Summer explained.

"Great-" They were interrupted by the front door opening.

"Hello? Anyone home? We're back!" Sandy's voice called from the front hall. A chorus of greetings welcomed them into the small house. "It smells great in here!"

"Hi guys!" Kirsten entered behind her husband. "How's it going?" She made the rounds, kissing everyone. Her family was not together nearly enough, and she took advantage of times like these to shower her kids with affection. Ryan and the twins entered from the backyard, Ryan looking worse for wear. He returned Kirsten's hug and went over to the couch, placing a kiss on Taylor's forehead.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like we shouldn't have had that amazing night eight months ago. As fun as it was, I want to kill you right now," she answered.

'Ah, there you are," said Ryan, smiling. She rolled her eyes.

"So, Taylor, when should we expect dinner?" Kirsten asked, placing her keys in down.

"Not sure - ask Sophie. I officially relinquished kitchen duties to her and Steve," Taylor said, settling herself deeper into the couch.

"We thought around 7:30? I think the Julie and Kaitlyn and Max were going to get here around 7 or so," Summer said.

"Wait – Max is coming?" Sophie said, as she entered the living room from the kitchen. She turned to her mother, "I thought you said he was staying at school for break!" Kirsten shrugged.

"Honey, that's what Julie told me. I guess he changed his mind," she explained. Sophie turned and headed back to the kitchen, muttering to herself.

"Oh, snap," said Seth. Summer swiped at his arm.

"Oh, snap!" said Jake, causing his brother to repeat him, which evolved into them yelling the phrase at the top of their lungs and running around in circles.

"What charming children you have, son," Sandy commented over the noise.

"Why, thank you, father," Seth replied.

"Who's up for drinks?" Kirsten asked. Five hands shot up. "Other than Taylor." Four hands remained in the air. "Okay, I'll be right back!"

"I'll come with you," said Sandy, heading into the kitchen with his wife.


	3. Chapter 3

Once Sandy and Kirsten had left the living room, Seth turned to Ryan.

"So what do you think of this Steve character? Is he good enough for our Sophie, who we have a brotherly duty to protect?" As he was talking, he noticed Jake sneak over and start to peek through the shopping bags, so he swiftly intercepted him, lifted him up and threw him over his shoulder, to much protest.

"Dad! Put me down!" a squirming Jake yelled. "Dad!" he was laughing now, his face red from hanging upside down. Ryan noticed that, in the commotion, Nate had taken over the task of snooping through the Christmukkah presents. He smiled at the twins' scheming and headed over and scooped up the other twin, throwing him over his shoulder as well.

"Uncle Ryan! I wasn't doing anything!" Nate was trying to wiggle his way out of his uncle's grasp, but Ryan was just too strong.

"Okay, monsters, you're officially banned from the living room until we get all the presents organized and hidden. There's plenty of space in the backyard. Out!" He carried Jake over to the sliding doors that led to the yard, while Ryan followed. Once they were safely back down on the ground, the twins glared at their captors and stormed their way out into the sunshine.

"Nice work, partner," Seth said to Ryan as they headed back to the mass of shopping bags. Summer and Taylor were on the couch, deep in conversation. The boys looked at them, realizing that asking for help would be a futile effort, and started to laden themselves with shopping bag after shopping bag. Carrying them up the stairs to Ryan's room, Seth reiterated his question from earlier.

"So, Steve. Nice kid?"

"Yeah, he seems to be. Sophie really seems to like him, and Sandy and Kirsten too. I think everyone's just a little wary, because he's not Max, and he might not be around that long."

"Like in high school when you brought a girl home that wasn't Marissa." This assessment was greeted with a patented Ryan Atwood side-eye. "Hey! Sorry, but it's the truth. You guys were always off and on, and any girl who happened to catch your eye in an off period didn't last long." Ryan tried to argue, but realized he didn't have much of a comeback. It was the truth. Even though he knew now that Marissa wasn't the one, that hadn't been the case in high school. They had always seemed to fall back together until the next time they fell apart. It was funny that Seth should mention it in connection with Sophie and Max, because he had noticed the two of them following the same pattern as well.

"Do we tell her?" Ryan asked.

"Tell who what?" Seth asked distractedly. "Damn, these bags are heavy. What did Summer buy?"

"Seth. Focus. Do we tell Sophie that she and Max shouldn't hold on to each other like this? Like Marissa and I did?"

"Uh…no. First of all, the fact that Sophie is dating at all creeps me out. Secondly, like I told Summer, we are old. We should not get involved in the goings-on in teenagers' lives."

"But like you said, isn't it our brotherly duty to protect her?" Ryan asked, hoisting the bags onto his bed. He loved coming home to the Berkeley house; while it had taken some time at first adjusting from the Pool House to a normal-sized bedroom of his own, he had never felt more at home. When they first moved in, Kirsten had told him that he could decorate it however he wanted. Having no idea where to even start, she had happily taken over the task for him, and she had done an amazing job. It was a testament to how well she knew her adopted son that the room suited him so perfectly.

"Yeah, from monsters under the bed or bad dreams or zombie attacks. And water polo players, obviously. But Max and Steve are both nice kids, and this isn't our business. Plus, it looks like when the Coopers get here, there's going to be some drama. And I love me some drama on Christmukkah!"

"Yeah, only when it doesn't involve you. Which is rare." Ryan pointed out.

"True, my friend. But this year, I am drama free and ready to watch the show." He looked at the mass of shopping bags on Ryan's bed. "Alright, now help me hide them. We have to be stealth; Nate and Jake have a radar for things like this."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Sophie had pulled Kirsten aside as soon as she and Sandy had entered the room. Sandy was busying himself by helping Steve put the finishing touches on dinner as mother and daughter had their conversation in the mud room adjacent to the kitchen.

"Mom! What am I supposed to do?" she asked her mother imploringly.

"About what, sweetheart?"

"What do you mean, 'what about?'! I had no idea that Max would be coming, otherwise I wouldn't have asked Steve to come!"

"Why not? I'm sure they'll be able to handle being in the same room with one another. You tell me at every chance you get that you're a mature adult, so why wouldn't your friends be the same?" Kirsten appreciated the opportunity to use this frequent arguing point of Sophie's against her. Although she was a relatively reasonable teenage girl, sometimes their arguments reached the realm of the ridiculous, and Kirsten wasn't above using Sophie's words against her, like any typical mother of a sixteen-year-old.

"I may be a mature adult, but these are boys we're talking about. Do you remember what Seth and Ryan were like at sixteen?" Sophie gazed at her mother levelly.

"Point taken."

"So what is your advice?"

"Honey, I can't give you any advice if I don't know what the situation is. I mean, I understand that you and Max have a past, but it seems like more than that. What's going on?"

"Never mind, I don't have time to explain now." Sophie huffed her way back into the kitchen, and Kirsten followed. Sandy looked up from his position at the stove as they entered, catching Kirsten's eye above Sophie's head. She shrugged, one that plainly said "sixteen-year-olds, what are you going to do?"

Back in the living room, Summer and Taylor were deep in discussion. Summer had never imagined she'd be where she was now; when she left Seth in that parking lot to join GEORGE, she never thought they'd be the same. She thought that by choosing herself, she was walking away from them, from their future together, from their happiness. She couldn't have been more wrong. Things weren't the same as they had been before she left, but that was a good thing. They had both grown a lot in their time apart, and they were better people for it. Ten years of marriage and three sons later, they were as happy as ever. Taylor and Ryan, on the other hand, had had a rockier road. After spending his teen years constantly with a girlfriend, Ryan had taken his time at Berkeley to play the field and enjoy his independence. Taylor, being Taylor, spent her years at the Sorbonne loving and leaving men, but she had never really forgotten about Ryan. Ten years ago, at Seth and Summer's wedding, they had tried to rekindle their relationship; the feelings and the spark were still there, but by that time they were both busy adults with lives of their own. Taylor lived in New York while Ryan was in San Francisco, and it just did not work logistically. But they missed each other.

"Tell me the story of how you showed up at Ryan's again, Tay. I love that one," Summer prompted, settling herself into the couch cushions. It was nice to have Taylor around to talk about the past. She didn't keep in touch with many of her high school friends (and Seth and Ryan definitely didn't count), so it was nice to rehash old memories when they were together.

"Oh, Summer, you've heard this story a hundred times," Taylor said, in that falsely modest way she had perfected.

"I know, but I want to hear it again."

"Fine. Well, it was about three years after you and Seth got married, and my office in New York told me there was an opening in the San Francisco branch that would be perfect for me. I was really happy in New York, and I had never really thought about moving back here. But when I did, really sit down and think about it, you know, I realized how much I missed it here. The ocean in New York is disgusting, Summer. But you know that. And I was single and the job meant a promotion, and New York is wonderful but it was never home. So I just decided to do it. To move back."

"I know this part, Taylor. Get to the good stuff!"

"Well, I had been in town about a month or so and I realized that I was lonely and bored. Plus, being back in California made me think of Ryan Atwood, and thinking of him made me think about tearing his clothes off…"

"Ew. Hurry up!"

"Anyway, at one point I decided to just go for it. I called Sandy and Kirsten and told them how I wanted to get back in touch with Ryan, and they gave me his address and number. I could've just called, but I kind of wanted to do the whole grand gesture, you know?"

"Typical Taylor…" smiled Summer.

"Well, anyway, I found that fabulous dress that Kaitlin told me to wear back in Newport, do you remember? I was so excited that it still fit!" She didn't pause long enough for Summer to answer. "Well, one Friday night I just decided to go for it, so I put the dress on and went to Ryan's apartment. As luck would have it, he was having a party for people from work, so the door was open and I just went inside. There wasn't any sign of him anywhere, but I kept looking. Finally I went out to the balcony to get some fresh air and collect my thoughts, as I was totally freaking out at the prospect of seeing him again. Naturally."

"Naturally," agreed her friend.

"So I'm out there and I hear the sliding door, and then a voice – his voice! – telling someone he needs some fresh air. And then he catches sight of me, and oh, Summer, I've never seen someone look at me like that before. We just moved toward each other, no words, and he kissed me like I'd never been kissed in my life. He didn't ask what I was doing there, he didn't ask why I had come, he just kissed me. And that naturally led to-"

"Stop. That's good. I just love hearing about the grand gesture. So romantic! Seth and I don't have much of that these days," Summer sighed.

"Well, Summer, you have come a long way since the days he stood atop a coffee cart to declare his love for you. I think three children would definitely put a damper on the romance."

"True. How about you? Are you worried that things will change once the baby comes?" Summer questioned.

"Not really. My sexual appetite has been unbelievable during my pregnancy, I just can't get enough! I doubt that will change afterwards. I mean, you know me."

"That I do, Taylor. That I do," Summer replied. Thankfully, she was spared from any of the details regarding Taylor's sexual appetite by the ringing doorbell. "I think the Coopers are here!"


End file.
